It’s a beautiful resort but it’s not Cuba. More tourists are found here than Cubans. It's only a showplace for tourists", the young Cuban lady guide explained, as she began to give us an overview of Varadero. Her words, more than volumes of reporters' stories, sum up what the local Cubans think of Varadero - the country's top tourist attraction. Everything in this resort of some 20,000 inhabitants is geared toward foreign visitors who are … [Read more...]
About Habeeb Salloum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeeb_Salloum
Habeeb Salloum is a Canadian author who grew up in Saskatchewan, joined the RCAF during the Second World War, and then worked for the Canadian Department of National Revenue for 36 years. For the last 30 years he has been a full-time freelance writer and author specializing in food, history and travel. Besides 7 books and 20 chapters in books, he has had hundreds of articles about culture, food, travel, history and homesteading in western Canada appear in such publications as the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the Western Producer, Contemporary Review, Forever Young, Vegetarian Journal and Saveur.
Among his most important published books are: From the Lands of Figs and Olives: Over 300 Delicious and Unusual Recipes from the Middle East and North Africa (Interlink Publishing, 1996); Journeys Back to Arab Spain (The Middle East Studies Center, 1994); Arabic Contributions to the English Vocabulary (Librairie du Liban, 1996) among others.
His most recent books, co-authored with Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum, are Scheherazade’s Feasts: Foods of the Medieval Arab World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013); and Sweet Delights from A Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Traditional Arab Sweets (I.B. Tauris, London, UK, 2013).
Habeeb was awarded the 2013 Saskatchewan Tourism Travel Media Award by the Saskatchewan Tourism on April 10, 2014 for his literary work on travel, tourism and the culinary arts of that province.
A Family Discovery of the Natural Beauty of Jasper and Its Environs
Packing up the van as we loaded up the children and luggage from our hotel in Edmonton, we embarked on the Jasper area of the Canadian Rockies adventure hoping to find snow-capped mountains, turquoise lakes, raging waterfalls and animals of the area. My daughter Muna and I were travelling with my eldest grandson Laith, Maria his wife and their two inquisitive sons, Bilal and Tamer. As we left the city anxious to visit Alberta’s natural wonders … [Read more...]
Celebrating the Beauty and History of Cape Breton Island by ‘Inning’ while ‘Outing’
By Habeeb Salloum and Muna Salloum After spending a few days in Sydney, Cape Breton Island’s largest city, we felt that it was time to discover why Nova Scotia declares Cape Breton Island, ‘the masterpiece where your heart will never leave’. One could feel the cleanliness of true nature and the goodness of humanity. Cape Bretoners exude hospitality at its best making visitors feel like family. Here in Sydney there is also something … [Read more...]
From Gourmet Eating to Fishing for Gourmet Lobsters – Cape Breton’s Seafood Bounty
By Habeeb Salloum and Muna Salloum ----------- We were excited and so were our stomachs as we headed out for a three-day tour of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia’s paradise isle. Leaving our immaculate 4-star hotel, Sydney’s Hampton Inn, we made our way through Cape Breton’s green coastline to Indian Brooks. The scene before us was breathtaking. We continued and a few kilometers later, reached the panoramic Lookout of St. Ann’s with seven more … [Read more...]
From the Traditional Farming to Luxurious Spas – Touring the Mennonite Region of Southern Ontario
The Mennonite region in southern Ontario around the Village of St. Jacob’s is a captivating traditional, rustic area yet with the amenities of the modern age. For those who enjoy history and the traditional pre-modern way of life, St. Jacob’s is the place to visit. The Village, a 1 1/2 hours drive from Toronto, represents the living remnants of a European Christian sect that was persecuted in Europe then found a home in Canada with the freedom … [Read more...]
The Kawarthas’ Lantern Restaurant Guides the Vacationer to a Gourmet Heaven
As our group of ten sipped on Stoney Mules on the patio of the Lantern Restaurant & Grill located on the edge of Stoney Lake in the Kawartha region of Ontario, I was content. At that moment, while enjoying this drink made of vodka, ginger-rhubarb shrub, mint and club soda, I could understand why this part of the province is so much in demand by tourists. The tree covered shoreline and the beautifully designed restaurant combine to make it an … [Read more...]
Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: The Center for Sustainable Landscapes
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, a great steel and glass Victorian greenhouse, once part of a dirty steel mill city has now been transformed into one of the world’s most energy-efficient structures. With the greenest public gardens of the world, it has put Pittsburgh on the map serving as a model of sustainability for the next century. Located in Schenley Park, one of Pittsburgh’s largest wide green areas, the Conservatory complex is … [Read more...]
Tulum: The Most Beautiful City of The Mayan World
After spending a week enjoying the leisure life of the Mayan Riviera, we were excited as we boarded the bus for historic Tulum, edging this flourishing tourist region of Mexico. A land of greenery and white sandy beaches edged by a deep blue sea, it leaves an image of paradise on one’s soul. In addition, it offers lagoons, ancient Mayan ruins, ecological reserves as well as the world’s second largest coral reef. I hardly slept the night … [Read more...]
The TV Farm Kings and Their Freedom Farms are What Reality TV should Really Be
We drove through a green rolling countryside as we made our way to Freedom Farms for the final meal of the day to end our tour of Butler County - an hour's drive north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was looking forward to our last meal of the tour in the rural part of the state with its wholesome and hearty home-cooked farm food. The Freedom Farms family is led by their outstanding mother, Lisa, a divorced mother of ten. She is the … [Read more...]
Italians Make Their Culinary Mark in Regina
One of Regina's most surprising culinary treasures is Fortuna Ristorante Italiano, a restaurant that offers parts of Italy's authentic culinary heritage of fine dining in Regina. The five partners responsible for its creation felt there was a need for and a definite interest in a high-end Italian restaurant in the city, envisioning a dining venue that would offer dishes that would define Italian culture. And well they did. The Fortuna has … [Read more...]
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